Marsh’s Library

features

One of the most atmospheric spots in Dublin, Marsh’s Library is a hauntingly beautiful building, which has barely changed in three centuries. Home to 25,000 books (and, apparently, the ghost of its founder, the Archbishop Narcissus Marsh), it’s the oldest public library in the country. Ancient books are held within intricately carved, dark oak bookcases, with rotating exhibits displaying books according to changing themes. At the back of the library, there are three ornate alcoves with wire doors, used as “reading cages”—readers would have been locked in when they were studying a rare book, to avoid theft.

Marsh’s Library

One of the most atmospheric spots in Dublin, Marsh’s Library is a hauntingly beautiful building, which has barely changed in three centuries. Home to 25,000 books (and, apparently, the ghost of its founder, the Archbishop Narcissus Marsh), it’s the oldest public library in the country. Ancient books are held within intricately carved, dark oak bookcases, with rotating exhibits displaying books according to changing themes. At the back of the library, there are three ornate alcoves with wire doors, used as “reading cages”—readers would have been locked in when they were studying a rare book, to avoid theft.